Flinn

Now, if by any chance you have missed the previous chapters, there's a summary here at chapter 10.

However, this new chapter is more of the sort of personal thoughts rather than an account of what's going on and I'd like to start from this comment I made back at chapter 9:

I was one of those who were fiercely criticizing those who gave up or who did not wanted to try, today I can tell you I understand them very well. Barring the personal experience, there's nothing who stimulate me to run again for another term, and frankly speaking, I know by now that everybody who stays in the politics for longer than one term only does that because they have some interests, even only the mere desire to be praised...

In simple words: there are no saints in politics, but only devils in disguise.

In particular I'd like to expand on the last sentence.. because there are devils and devils, and gray has many shades as we all know. I'm not changing the sense of my statement, in principle, I'm just trying to say that some devils can still do good even when they are thinking just of themselves and that some others act evilly in order to do some good when they can.

Does the end justify the means? In politics, it does.

We should not be hypocritical, we are responsible for the politicians we have, or, as I always love to say "Every people has the politicians it deserves!". I strongly believe in this. The political system is crooked because we allow it to be so, because we do bend ourselves to the easiest solution and very seldom, if at all, pretend the fair and honest solution.
For this reason, we can't really blame politicians for what they do (I can still blame someone for deciding to become one anyways, but that's a matter of morality and lack of empathy...), sure some of them are utter criminals (the majority, maybe?), but few of them are trying, here and there, to do the fair and honest thing to be done.. still they have to face the reality of the world they live in, of the crippled humanity and of the effect that power and money do on even the most honest and good willed individual.

If you can manage to survive in the system and still be able to do some willful good, then you are really doing the hardest job in the world.
Everything and everybody will try to stop you from doing so, because good willing people are a menace to any kind of establishment (which is based on keeping the status quo, of course).. sometimes you'll have to dirt your soul, some other times you'll have to ask others to do so, and even more often you'll have to concede something in exchange and lose something of yours... well if you do so willingly, you have all my respect.
Ah and don't expect praise, because the system will do everything to put you under a bad light if you'll try to take merit for your good deeds.. just do them from the shadows and forget about them, it's the wisest way.

Ps if you people really want to know what we can do to possibly improve our political system, then it's easy said (but hardly done): take responsibility for the politicians you have elected, and let them know that you are doing so.